The Fifth Marauder
by IantheCheshireCat
Summary: An AU in which there was a fifth member of the Marauders. This story will focus mainly on the adventures of the Marauders during their time at Hogwarts, since I'm kinda mad JK won't give us a story about them. Rated T because it's about a group of teenagers, so I expect there to be a bit of cursing once we get towards the later chapters. Welcome and enjoy!


"Miriam Rynn was, by any and all accounts, extraordinary. Would've done amazing in Slytherin, but she was too good for them. No, she was a Gryffie, through and through…

I met her on Platform 9 ¾ in 1971. 'Met' is a generous term; I almost trampled her as I ran ahead of my parents to the train. I didn't see her. She was tiny, and at first I thought she wasn't old enough to be going to school, until I saw a garment bag with Hogwart's crest on it dangling over her arm and dragging slightly on the ground, and a trunk that seemed to be twice her size in her other hand. She glared at me as her big brother helped her up.

"Watch it!" she snapped.

"Sorry!" I said, smiling a little to myself. She was too small for her anger to really register as anger. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." she said. "No thanks to you."

"Mir," her brother scolded (it sounded like 'mirror'), "be nice. Not the kid's fault he's overexcited and you're short."

"I am not short!" she retorted to her brother.

Another brother - they all shared the same black hair, blue eyes combo, and the same cheekbones - commented, "Actually, you're right. For a part-elf, Miriam, you're very tall!"

"You're part-elf?" I asked the girl. This was evidently the wrong thing to ask. The brothers both burst into laughter, but Miriam was all of a sudden a very splotchy red that clashed with the blue robes she was draped in.

"No, I am not!" Miriam told me, in a voice that made me think she might've grown half a foot in the span of a few seconds.

I grinned, holding my hands up appeasingly. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry!"

"You'd better be…" Miriam muttered, before straightening up and plastering an innocent smile on her face in a tell tale sign of parental figures approaching. Immediately, I copied, making myself look as innocent as possible as a blonde man approached.

"You kids behaving?" the man asked.

"Yeah, Dad, just having a laugh." the oldest brother said, grinning. It would appear that all the children's father contributed to their appearance was the shape of the oldest brother's nose and the smattering of freckles on Miriam's face. Otherwise, there was no resemblance.

"Yeah?" the father replied. "Well have a laugh on the train, before it leaves you here. Make sure your sister gets on safe." As the man knelt down to give his tiny daughter a hug, my mother and father finally caught up with me.

"Making friends already, James?" asked my mother, fondness and pride evident in her voice.

Miriam's father stood up. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter! Nice to see you again!"

"Same to you, Mr. Rynn." my father said. "Your youngest is heading off to Hogwarts already?"

"Too soon, it feels like." Mr. Rynn said. The Hogwarts Express whistled shrilly. "Alright, kids, on the train!" He clapped as the two brothers escorted their sister towards the train after giving their father brief hugs.

I was smothered between my two parents until it was almost too late, and I raced onto the train and into the first compartment with available seats. There was a shock of red hair sat near the window, and a bit next to her was the girl from the platform, Miriam. I smiled at her, and she couldn't seem to decide if she wanted to glare at me or smile. I sat down next to a pudgy looking boy, and across from two other boys (one of whom projected confidence and charisma, the other of whom looked like he'd missed his alarm). We all grinned at each other, and exchanged basic hellos.

I was sat next to Peter Pettigrew, who's eyes went wide when he learned he was sat next to a Potter, and a Black, two pureblood names with impressive accomplishments. Black was the name of the boy sat across from me who, even at eleven, knew he was the bomb. The boy sitting next to him was Remus Lupin. I asked him if it was normal for eleven year old boys to have circles under their eyes. He asked me if it was normal for eleven year old boys to wear their mother's lipstick, and as the rest of the boys laughed, I rubbed my cheeks and my hand came away stained pink with my mother's lipstick. I joined in with the laughter, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Miriam was smiling too, despite herself.

During a lull in the conversation, I asked Miriam what happened to her brothers.

"Didn't they march you on here?" I asked. She looked a little startled, as if she wasn't expecting to be drawn into the conversation. She had been staring out the window like the redheaded girl in the corner, who had ignored all of our attempts at conversation thus far.

Sirius laughed. "You don't have any siblings, do you?" he asked me. I shook my head. "I'd jump at the first chance to escape my brother. Or most of my family." he looked around Remus, who was looking through one of his textbooks, at Miriam. "Are you the youngest?"

Miriam nodded. "Two big brothers."

A blur of black - had some swot changed into their school robes already? - entered the compartment and sat down across from the redhead. The two seemed to know each other, and they had their own conversation. Good for them, I thought. If she didn't wanna talk with us, at least she'd talk with the swot.

"What about you, Remus?" I asked the tired boy. "You got any siblings?"

He shook his head. "Think me mum and dad were too exhausted dealing with me to even think about having another."

"Peter?" I asked, and he shook his head as well. The conversation lulled again after that. Sirius and I kept opening the door and looking down the hallway for the trolley. My pocket was heavy with coins I itched to spend on sweets - as if I didn't get plenty at home.

"You'd better be in Slytherin!" said the boy who'd just come in to the redheaded girl. I turned to stare at the boy. He was small, but a different kind of small than Miriam was. Miriam was small because she was just small. This boy was small because he was just… grey. Looked like he hadn't been hugged enough growing up.

"Slytherin?" I echoed him, wondering why anybody would want to be in there. Hadn't this kid heard the stories? "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" I asked Sirius. Sirius shrugged, his face impassive.

"My whole family have been Slytherin." he said. Whoops. I congratulated myself dryly on potentially messing up a good friendship.

"Blimey!" I said in disbelief, "And I thought you seemed alright!"

At this, Sirius grinned. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you headed, if you've got the choice?"

I leaned back, messing up my hair with one hand as I raised an invisible sword pointed straight at Sirius, swiping at an equally invisible monster. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!" I quoted. "Like me dad!"

The boy in all black made a noise somewhere between a humph and a cough and a snort. I jumped to my feet, turning to point the invisible sword at the boy. "Got a problem with that?" I asked him. The boy poorly hid a sneer before he responded.

"No." he said. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"

He was cut off by Sirius, "Where're you hoping to go, then, seeing as you're neither?" Alright, that was pretty funny. And to be fair, the boy walked right into it. Sirius and I laughed loudly, and Peter joined in shortly after. Remus was still looking studiously into his textbook, but his lips quirked upwards a little. Miriam seemed to be smiling, though she hid her mouth with a hand. The redhead sat up and glared down at me and Sirius. I noticed her face was wet - had she been crying this whole time?

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment." she said, gesturing for the boy - Severus - to stand.

"Oooh!" Sirius said, his eyes lit up as he teased Lily and the boy. I made a show of sheathing the imaginary sword and clearing a way for the pair, though I did make an effort to trip Severus as he left. "See ya, Snivellus!" Sirius called as the compartment door slammed shut and Severus's black robes vanished out of sight.

"Snivellus, that's a good one!" I said to Sirius, and the two of us high fived.

Miriam rolled her eyes. "We haven't even arrived at Hogwarts, and you're already making such good friends!"

"We have!" Sirius said. "We've made friends with you, haven't we?"

"You don't even know if we'll all be in the same house!" Miriam said. "Making enemies is easier across house lines than making friends."

"What house d'you think you'll be in, then?" Remus asked, finally looking up from his textbook.

"No idea." Miriam said. "My mother and all of her family were in Slytherin, my father's a Huffie, my brother Marcus is a Gryffie, and my other brother Owen is in Ravenclaw."

"Which one do you want to be in?" Remus asked. "I'm hoping for Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, myself."

Miriam shrugged. "As long as I'm not in Hufflepuff, I'll be fine."

"Even if you're in Slytherin?" Peter asked, eyes wide.

"My mother was in Slytherin." Miriam said again. "And my mother wasn't bad. So it wouldn't be the end of the world if I was in Slytherin."

"Yes it would be!" I said. "You'd be in the same house as Snivellus!"

"Every house has a few duds." was all Miriam said before Peter squealed with delight as the trolley passed by. Sirius and I heaved open the door, and stopped the nice trolley lady. All of us crowded by the door. Sirius shoved Peter and I out of the way so Miriam could get to the front.

"Ladies first!" Sirius said with a stupid grin on his face. Miriam rolled her eyes and held out a few galleons.

"Two chocolate frogs and a batch of cauldron cakes, please?" she asked. The trolley witch took her coins and handed her her candy. Miriam thanked her with a wide grin and sat back down to watch the boys and I shove each other out of the way to be the next to order. I knocked Peter down and stepped in front of Sirius, holding out a little bag of Galleons and Sickles.

"One box of every flavor beans?" I said politely, smiling sweetly at the trolley witch. "And some iced pumpkin juice, and an orange licorice wand?"

"Orange licorice?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Were you raised in a sewer?"

I thanked the trolley witch politely and stepped aside with my treats. "No," I answered, "I was raised by a pair of really old people. Mum 'n' Dad only kept orange and black licorice wands around. Didn't have red when they were growing up, apparently."

Sirius gasped. "Two red wands, please?" he asked the trolley witch. "My new friend here must learn the error of his ways!"

The trolley witch chuckled in a grandmotherly sort of way, and handed Sirius his candy. Remus ordered his quickly, but Peter held up the whole thing because he couldn't decide between cauldron cakes or pumpkin pasties. He finally settled for cauldron cakes, and the trolley witch went on her way.

Sirius threw a red wand at me. "Eat that one, and see what you've been missing!"

Remus was smiling. "I didn't even know that they made orange licorice!"

"I don't think they do." Miriam said. "Anymore. Have you been eating old and expired licorice your whole life, James?"

I bit into the orange licorice wand. "This one isn't old and expired." I attempted to say as the candy cemented my jaw shut.

"So you have eaten expired ones before?" Remus asked with a cheeky grin. Peter and Sirius whooped with laughter.

It took me a minute to answer, since I needed to open my mouth to talk and the licorice was making that difficult. Finally, I managed to say, "Alright, occasionally my mother would forget that a bag of sweets was expired before she set them out on the candy dish. I was eight, how was I supposed to know?"

"Did you not have tastebuds?" Miriam asked. "Or a working gag reflex?"

"Clearly not if he's eating that orange abomination." Sirius said.

"Oh, ew, he's finishing it!" Peter said as I ate the last of the orange wand.

"What else was I gonna do?" I asked. "Throw it out the window? I paid for it!" I took a sip of my iced pumpkin juice.

"And now, the wild orange licorice eater, must cleanse his pallet of the horrid taste…" Miriam said, sounding like how I'd always imagined zookeepers must sound like when they give tours showing off their animals.

"I think he's beyond taste." Sirius said. "I think the pumpkin juice is just so he can get the sticky out of his mouth faster so he can talk."

"Guys, it's just licorice!" I said, coughing a little, as I'd spoken too soon and accidentally breathed in some pumpkin juice.

Miriam was halfway through her batch of cauldron cakes. "It's just orange licorice…" she said with a hand over her mouth. A bit of the creamy potion inside the chocolate cauldron dribbled down her chin, and she hastily mopped it up, glaring at all of us when we teased her.

"At least you didn't get it on your school robes." Remus said in a reasonable voice.

"What chocolate card did you get?" Peter asked her.

"Merlin and Bertie Bott." Miriam answered. "Do any of you want them?"

"Got them both already?" Sirius asked, taking the two cards from Miriam.

"No, I don't collect." Miriam said. All four of us turned and stared at her. "What, they're just cards!"

And so the day passed, sat in that compartment. We talked about everything and anything we could think of, and sometimes, we just sat there and stared out the window, because this was it. Hogwarts. We were going to Hogwarts.

Miriam left the compartment first to change into her school robes. The sun was just beginning to set. My parents had told me that the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogsmeade Station in the early evening, after the sun had set. When Miriam returned to the compartment, lanterns had been turned on magically, and in the new light, Miriam looked like a floating face. Her black hair blended in with the black robes, in sharp contrast to her pale skin.

As soon as she came back, Sirius, Remus, Peter and I rushed to the bathroom to change into our robes. I think we'd waited a bit too long, as we were the only ones rushing through the hall to change. Peter couldn't tie his tie properly, and he trailed behind us on the way back to our compartment as he tried to fix it. When we arrived, we saw Miriam pressing her face against the window.

"What is it?" Sirius asked.

"Come look!" Miriam said. "I think we'll be able to see it when we come around the bend again!"

"See what?" I asked.

"Hogwarts, you idiot!" Miriam said. It was all she needed to say. Remus, Sirius and I crowded around her and the window, peering into the darkness. We were looking at a hill currently, but we had to be getting close.

"Peter!" I said, reaching behind me blindly to try and smack at him. "C'mere, we'll fix your tie later. You should see!"

Peter stood on tip toes, peering over Remus's shoulder. The train came out from behind the hill, and we all took in a collective breath. Hogwarts. An imposing castle, sitting next to a massive lake and a forest, glowing with the light of a hundred thousand candles. Four towers, bigger than I could've ever imagined. And then Hogsmeade, just ahead, sitting at the base of a long slope leading up to Hogwarts. Hogsmeade glowed, too, warm and inviting.

The train whistled, and we began to slow. Miriam let out a little squeak of excitement.

"Excited, Miriam?" I asked.

"Shut up." she replied.

We waited with mounting anticipation as the train pulled into the station. No sooner than did we lurch to a stop than did Miriam bolt out into the hall.

Sirius laughed. "She's fast for someone so tiny." he raced out into the hall after her. "Wait up!" he called. Remus and I shared a look, shrugged, and ran out after him. Peter followed. It hadn't even been thirty seconds, and already the hallway was swamped. I had to fight my way through the much bigger students just to keep Sirius's shiny black hair in sight. People were pressing in on all sides, and I felt such relief when I got out onto the platform. It was like taking a deep breath after breaking the surface of the water. Looking behind me to make sure Remus and Peter hadn't gotten lost, I led the three of us down the platform. I'd lost sight of Sirius, and my heart clenched painfully as I worried despite myself. Where to now?

"Firs' years over here!" called a man in a booming voice. His wand was pointed at his neck. I pushed my way through the crowd towards him. Ahead, I saw the greasy hair of Snivellus and the bright red hair of the girl he was with. They stood next to each other in front of the man. I searched for Sirius and Miriam, and found myself wishing that one of them had distinguishing hair.

Remus, Peter and I stood in a clump of other first years in front of the man with his wand pointed to his neck. The platform was clearing out now, and it was just the first years, looking nervous.

"Follow me!" the man called, waving us off the platform. He led us down a very steep, very narrow, very wet stone path. We had to walk single file, and Peter kept slipping and sliding in the dim light. I once again felt that squeeze in my chest, like I was underwater and desperate for breath. It wasn't claustrophobia this time though. It was nervous anticipation.

The path began to open up, and soon we were all bunched together at the edge of the great lake, looking up at Hogwarts. It seemed even more massive from here!

"Whoa…" I breathed.

"I can't believe I'm here…" Remus said quietly.

"Me too." Peter said.

There was a collection of boats bobbing in the water. The man who'd led us here called to us,

"Everyone get in now! No more than four to a boat!"

Rocks on the shore of the lake crunched beneath our feet as we all scrambled to get in a boat. Peter, Remus and I were in one, with another boy who introduced himself as Evian McKinley. I looked around in the dimming light for Sirius and Miriam, and saw them a few boats over. Sirius was pressed as far to one end of the boat as he possibly could be, and as I squinted in the light I saw why. Miriam and the redheaded girl were standing together, looking as if they'd rather not be in their current situation but they were going to be mature about it, and each of them were glaring at their company; Sirius for Miriam, and Snivellus for the redhead. Snivellus was also pressed as far away from Sirius as he could be, and together he and Sirius seemed to be accidentally unsteadying the boat.

The man who guided us here got into his own boat. "Easy now!" he called to us. "We don't want to capsize before we even get there! Ready? Forward!" he pointed his wand to the other side of the lake, and, as one, as if pulled by an invisible string along a track, the boats all began to float across the lake. An awe-filled hush fell over us as we all stared up at Hogwarts looming over us from across the lake, glowing brightly. Peter leaned over the edge of the boat to run his fingers through the water, and I heaved him up.

"Why you looking down, Peter, Hogwarts is that way!" I whispered. Peter wiped his hand on his robes and obediently looked up at the castle. It was beginning to be hidden from view by a giant wall of blackness.

"Heads down, kids!" called the guide, and Peter, Remus, Evian and I all ducked our heads as we passed through a curtain of ivy. Peter needn't have bothered, the ceiling was far too high to be of any danger to him, short as he was. We were once again in a very dark tunnel, but the walls glistened faintly and I caught quick, faint reflections of myself on them as we passed through.

We didn't have to spend long in this dark tunnel. We emerged into a warmly lit underground harbor, and our boats glided neatly into place. I leapt onto shore, and the sand seemed to be just as reflective as the water we just sailed across. I saw Sirius stepping out of his boat first, before offering his hand to Miriam so he could help her down. He offered to help the redheaded girl out too, but she knocked his hand away and jumped down herself. Sirius just smiled at Miriam, who rolled her eyes. I led Peter and Remus (and Evian, who didn't seem to have anyone else to hang around) over to Sirius and Miriam.

"There you are!" Miriam said. "We couldn't find you, worried we lost you."

Remus chuckled. "Says the girl who ran out into the crowd on her own."

"It's Hogwarts." Miriam said with a shrug. "It's supposed to be the safest place in all of Britain."

"Follow me!" called our guide, grabbing a lamp from one of the boats and leading us up yet another passageway. Together, our clump of eleven year olds squeezed through after him, quickly emerging on the damp grass in front of the castle. We were almost there. With great ceremony, our guide led us up the massive stone steps to an impossibly big oak door. After checking to make sure we were all still there, he knocked three times.

The big doors swung open, and we were granted our first glimpse of Hogwarts' interior. All I managed to see were high ceilings and torches before my attention was drawn to a sick looking man in bright red robes tied tight at the waste with a black sash, which served to highlight how thin he was. I think my elderly father might've been more filled out. He raised an eyebrow as he observed all of us.

"I think he might be thinner than you, Remus!" Sirius whispered. Remus shushed him, and Peter snickered.

"Thank you, Ogg." said the man in the red robes. His voice was stronger than his appearance would've suggested.

"Professor Yates, sir." our guide - Ogg, apparently - said respectfully.

"Follow me, children." the professor said, pushing the door open even further and waving us inside. As one, the first year class stepped across the threshold and followed the red-clad professor across the stony floor of the entrance hall. Their footsteps echoed loudly, but not loud enough to drown out the rest of the school's voices, which were coming from a great hall to the right of their entrance. It seemed at first that we were headed towards that great hall, and when the professor leading us led us instead to a smaller door just down the entrance hall from the great hall, a few students had to awkwardly change course to keep up.

The door the professor led us to opened to a small antechamber. It was a very tight fit, and there was much stepping on feet and bumping into each other as we all tried to squeeze into the room. For the second time that day, I almost knocked Miriam over, but because we were packed like sardines, she didn't fall over. She did glare at me again though.

Professor Yates stood at the head of the antechamber, in front of two modest doors. He cleared his throat, and we all silently looked up at him. In the dim chamber, he and his red robes were easily visible.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." he said. He sounded uninterested and quite rehearsed. "The start-of-term feast will start shortly, but before you sit down with the rest of the school, you must be sorted into your Houses. Sorting is one of the most important ceremonies we have here at Hogwarts, because while you are here, your House will be your family. You'll attend classes with your House, you'll eat meals with your House, you'll live together in House dormitories, and spend your free time in your House common rooms."

"So we'd better like who we're with." Sirius said quietly, but he might as well have shouted it for how quiet the rest of us were being. A nervous chuckle spread through the first years, and the professor waited until we were quiet again to continue his speech.

"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin." Professor Yates said. "Each House has produced many outstanding witches and wizards throughout their noble histories; the famous Merlin, for example, hailed from Slytherin, and our current headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, was a Gryffindor student. While you're here, your triumphs will gain your House points. Your failures will lose you points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points will be awarded the House Cup. I expect each of you is going to become a valuable member of whichever House you find yourselves in." He took a deep breath. "The Sorting Ceremony will begin in a few minutes. Wait here until I return."

The professor exited the antechamber, and no sooner than did the door close behind him than did we break out into nervous whispers.

"What happens for the Sorting?" Peter asked, looking slightly green.

I shrugged. "My parents wouldn't tell me. Probably nothing major."

"Maybe we spin the bottle, and whichever House we're pointed to we go to." Sirius suggested.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Something tells me the ancient magical school of Hogwarts doesn't use a child's kissing game to sort students."

"You don't know otherwise, do you?" Sirius asked. Remus sighed.

"There's this thing called an educated guess, Sirius." Remus said.

"You're not educated, though." Miriam said. "That's why we're here."

"Such cheek." Remus responded. "It's probably a test."

"It can't be a test, we haven't learned anything yet!" Peter said worriedly.

"Relax!" I said. "It can't be that bad."

The professor returned, clearing his throat to regain our attention. "Follow me." he ordered sternly. I reflected, as we marched single file out into the great hall, that so far, Hogwarts seemed to be a lot of following people places.

The great hall was well lit with thousands of floating candles above our heads, and the candle light was reflected by the gold plates that were laid out on the four long tables. Those four tables were packed with students, all looking up at us expectantly. We lined up facing them in front of the teacher's table. Professor Yates placed a stool and an old hat on the floor in front of us, and pulled a scroll from his robes. He stepped back, and all eyes were on the hat, not us.

There was a deep breath taken not from any human, but the hat! He opened his 'mouth' - really it was a slit at his rim - and he started to sing. It was a funny thing, a hat singing, and something I couldn't quite comprehend was actually happening until the final few bars. Then everyone in the hall was clapping, and the hat flopped its tip over almost like it was bowing, before becoming still once more.

Professor Yates stepped forward as the clapping died down, unrolling his scroll. "When I call your name, sit on the stool and put on the hat to be sorted. Adams, Eric!" A ginger boy who was by far the tallest first year with legs that seemed to go on for miles walked as calmly as he could manage up to the stool. As we all waited with baited breath for him to be sorted, I thought of how lucky Sirius was. His name was Black, he'd be one of the first ones sorted. I was Potter, so I'd be one of the last, and the anticipation was the worst part!

"Slytherin!" the hat called, and the table second in from the right, who's occupants had bright green and silver ties, burst into cheers. Eric Adams, smiling slightly, walked over to the table as Professor Yates cleared his throat again.

"Ainsley, Carina!" Professor Yates called, and from the line of first years stepped a very pale girl - I think her eyelashes were even blonde! - who was a little shaky as she stepped up to the stool. The hat barely needed to touch her.

"Hufflepuff!" it called, and the table on the right cheered for its new member.

Next, Sirius was called. He walked confidently up to the stool and pulled the hat over his head. I hoped for his sake he wasn't in Slytherin - not only because he didn't seem to want to be there, but because if he was he'd be with Snivellus. I also didn't want to lose a new friend so soon. The hat took a bit with Sirius, but eventually it opened its mouth and called out loud and clear,

"Gryffindor!"

The table on the far left exploded in cheers and whoops as Sirius went to join them. On and on the names went. "Carter, Opal" went to Slytherin, "Drake, Adrian" went to Hufflepuff, "Edgecombe, Henry" went to Ravenclaw. The redheaded girl from the train, who's name was "Evans, Lily", went to Gryffindor. I noticed Sirius made room for her, but Miss Evans turned her back on him on the bench. Snivellus looked particularly sad at her placement. The names went on, and I was beginning to wish my mother had married someone with a last name in the first few letters of the alphabet. The wait was killing me. Remus went to Gryffindor, and Sirius clapped the loudest for him.

Finally, we reached the P's. Peter's name was called, and he almost tripped on the way to the stool. He sat down on the stool, and… He sat there. And he sat there. He was by far the longest so far. But finally… the hat shouted, "Gryffindor!" The whole hall clapped loudly, almost out of relief that the hat had said anything.

Then it was my turn. I don't remember walking up to the stool, or sitting down, or putting the hat on. I just remember hoping I was in Gryffindor.

Don't worry boy. A voice whispered in my brain. You'll do well in "GRYFFINDOR!"

The far left table exploded in cheers. Peter, Remus, and Sirius were clapping excitedly as I approached. I sat down in the middle of them and grinned at them all as they clapped me on the back.

"We're all together!" Peter whispered.

"No thanks to you, mate." Sirius said. "You gave us a real scare, staying up there so long."

"The hat didn't know where to put me." Peter said.

"Same here." Remus said. "But it didn't take nearly as long as you!"

"Shh!" I whispered. Miriam was called. She was sitting on the stool, her eyes covered by the hat. We waited.

"Ugh, another hat stall…" someone down the table muttered.

"What's a hat stall?" I asked quietly.

"It's when the hat takes forever to decide." an older student sitting across from us on the table said. "Usually only a once in a generation type of thing. Never heard of two students in one year being one."

"Maybe the old hat is losing it's touch!" the student's friend whispered, and the pair laughed.

"Gryffindor!" shouted the hat, and Sirius, Remus, Peter and I clapped until our hands hurt as Miriam practically ran over to us.

"The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin." Miriam whispered to us. "He couldn't decide between Gryffindor and Slytherin, so in the end he put me in Gryffindor."

"Seems to be his default choice when he doesn't know where you go." Remus said.

"Snape, Severus!" called Professor Yates, and Snivellus walked up to the stool. The hat barely needed to touch his head before it shouted out,

"Slytherin!"

"Poor Evans." Sirius said, knowing full well Lily could hear him. "Lost her little friend in Snivellus."

Lily whirled around and glared at him. "Only bigots let something as stupid as a House in school choose their friends."

"He might not want to be friends with you now." Sirius said. "Gryffindor and Slytherin have a bit of a rivalry, see."

Lily glowered at him. "If all of Gryffindor is full of jerks like you, I can see why!"

"Jerks, are we?" I asked. "C'mon, Evans, you barely know us!"

"And I don't want to." Lily said stubbornly.

"Sucks to be you, then, because you're stuck with us." Sirius said.

"Sucks to be her." Lily said, nodding to Miriam. "She's stuck with you more than I am."

"Yeah, but I don't mind." Miriam said, grinning. "They're not half-bad, and it's nice to have friends."

The last person was sorted into Ravenclaw, and the crowd settled down as a wizened old wizard stood up from his golden chair at the teacher's table. "Welcome!" he said, holding his arms out wide. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" The students whooped and hollered. "I have a few words before we begin the feast! Niffler! Nitpick! Baubles! Squeak!" He sat down, and right in front of my eyes, the golden plates in front of me were suddenly filled with food. It seemed to poof onto the plates out of nowhere! Potatoes and soup and steak and pork and rice and french fries and bacon and lamb chops and gravy and turkey and stuffing! There were even candies, as if desert had already come!

Miriam's stomach grumbled loudly.

"Hungry?" Peter asked, grinning as he loaded scalloped potatoes onto his plate.

"Starving." Miriam answered, stacking juicy-looking legs of chicken and baked potatoes onto her plate and pouring gravy all over them.

"Are you even capable of eating that much?" Remus asked.

"Just because Miriam and I are small doesn't mean we can't eat!" Peter said with a mouthful of potatoes.

"The opposite, actually!" Miriam said. "I can eat an entire horse and I won't get any bigger!"

"You've tried that?" I asked. Miriam glared.

"It's an expression, idiot." she said, stealing some bacon off my plate. "I fine you two bacon slices."

"You can't fine me!" I protested.

"Says who?" Miriam asked, looking me in the eyes as she ate my bacon.

"Says me!" I said.

"Funnily enough, that didn't stop her." Remus said.

The students oohed all around us, and students pointed up at the wall of the Great Hall opposite us as ghosts started flying in through the wall. They were pale silver wisps of people, translucent and glowing. Their glow was a bluer, chillier kind of glow than the warm glow of the many candles, and as they floated through the air down to the students, several candles flickered. A few went out, but at the wave of Ogg's wand they were lit again. My eyes were drawn to a tubby man with a ruffle around his neck who was floating down to our table, but Miriam and Sirius seemed to be looking higher, at a gaunt ghost covered in silver blood who was making a beeline for the Slytherin table.

"The Bloody Baron…" Sirius whispered. "Me cousin Bellatrix told me about him…"

"Why's he covered in blood?" Peter asked. He was asking Sirius, but the ghost of the man with a ruffle around his neck was the one who answered.

"I don't believe anyone knows." he said. "None of the ghosts do, anyway. We've never asked." He hovered just above the plate of the remaining bacon, and suddenly it looked less appetizing. He bowed, and the tip of his head collided with mine in what should've been a painful head bump. But instead, his head went through me, and I was immediately colder than I'd ever been - than I ever thought was possible to be!

"Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, at your service!" said the ghost as he straightened up, leaving me feeling a lot less hungry and warm-inside-the-stomach as I was before. The older student who'd told us about hat-stalls laughed, and pushed me a cup of warm tea.

"Drink, you'll feel better. Not the first time Nearly Headless Nick has done something like that." he said.

"Thanks." I said, giving the tea a tiny sip. The warmth of the tea slowly started to counteract the chill of the ghost the more I drank.

"Nearly Headless?" asked Nancy Mulligan, a girl who'd been sorted into Gryffindor with us. "Your head looks attached."

Sir Nicholas sent a frosty glare the older student's way. "Yes, that is why they call me nearly headless. Though I'd prefer you'd call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington."

"That's a mouthful if ever I heard one." Michael, another Gryffindor boy from our year, said. "How are you nearly headless?"

Sir Nicholas grabbed his left ear, but before he could do anything, another older student (who didn't look much older than us. She was maybe second or third year) said, "Can you not, Sir Nick? I'm eating!"

The table laughed as Sir Nicholas looked miffed at everyone. "If you're going to ask how I'm nearly headless, I expect you want an answer!"

"And they'll probably get an answer before the year is over!" the girl said. She looked at Lily, Miriam, Nancy, and two of three triplets (the other was named Alice, and was sorted into Hufflepuff) named Alyssa and Alison who I couldn't tell apart. "You'll thank me later. I threw up first time I saw it."

My appetite restored by the tea (and by Sir Nicholas drifting off to talk to some of the other students), I began wolfing my food down in earnest. We first years took turns talking about our families. I learned that Sirius came from the Noble House of Black, and he was expecting a very angry letter from his mother in the morning about daring to be sorted into Gryffindor. Remus's father worked for the Ministry and was an expert on boggarts (which the older boy sitting across from us said we'd cover in third year Defense class). Peter regaled us with a hilarious story of how his wizard father had met his muggle mother when the poor woman had accidentally stumbled her way into Hogsmeade. Lily (who spoke only to the other girls and not to Sirius or I) simply said both her parents were muggles, and they were ecstatic their daughter was a witch. Miriam's mother died shortly after giving birth to her, and her father worked for the Prophet. Nancy's mother and father were both Healers at Saint Mungo's, and Alyssa and Alison's father was a renown potioneer. Michael was also a Muggleborn, who's parents were something called astronauts, and Tyrone, a quiet boy from London, just said his mum worked for the ministry.

"What about you, James?" Nancy asked, a sleepy smile on her face as she sipped on some pumpkin juice. We were all only taking small bites, feeling full.

"My dad's an inventor." I said. "He made Sleakeazy's Hair Potion."

The girls, except Lily, all nodded, knowing what the product was. The boys took a bit longer. Remus finally got it.

"I think my mother uses it." he said.

"I wouldn't be surprised." I said. "According to my dad, every witch has a bottle of it somewhere."

Dinner cleared, and in its place came dessert. Cakes and ice cream and tarts… We all thought we couldn't eat anymore, but damn if we didn't try! My stomach felt like it was about to burst, and I was sure I wouldn't need to eat for another month when the old wizard who'd summoned the food - the other students had called him Professor Dumbledore during conversation - stood up. At once, the hall was silent, and all eyes were upon him.

"Just a few start-of-term notices to give you before we all head off to bed!" he said. "First years should note that the forest on grounds is forbidden to all pupils. Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to remind all of you that no magic is to be used in the corridors between classes. And Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested should contact Madam Hooch." He clapped. "Now, off to bed! Pip pip!"

Immediately, the hall was filled with the chatter of the students. Over all that, a few loud voices were shouting, "First years, follow me!"

The older student sitting across from us pointed us to a young lady standing at the end of our table. "That's Marina. She's one of the prefects for Gryffindor. Follow her."

And so we did. Sirius, Peter, Remus, Miriam and I led the way through the crowd to Marina. She smiled warmly at us. "Follow me, I'll show you to the dorm." We followed her out the Great Hall and up the marble staircase we'd seen when we first entered. A few of us started yawning as we made our way through the massive castle. I tried to pay attention to where we were going, but the way was apparently full of a lot of strange twists and turns. The staircases moved, some of them weren't really there, some that looked like they would fall apart if you stepped on them wrong… At least twice Marina led us through what looked to be a solid wall, and then she had to push aside tapestries or get the help of the other prefect, Paul, to push aside a sliding piece of wall to get to a door! How were you supposed to remember where to find all these doors and walkways?!

But finally, at the end of a long corridor, we came to a painting of a woman draped in pink silks.

"Are we there?" asked Peter.

"Yep, here we are." Marina said.

"Password?" asked the portrait.

"Felix Canis." Marina answered. The portrait swung open, revealing a hole in the wall. We all climbed inside, but Miriam, Peter, and Nancy all needed a bit of help from Paul. Lily almost needed a leg up, but she managed it.

"Password changes every two weeks." Paul said once we'd all made it inside. "Take care to look for the new one on the notice board."

We all stared at the common room. Plush red and gold couches and chairs, a chess set, a roaring fireplace, desks by the window…

"Bedtime." Marina reminded us, smiling as some of us seemed to already be asleep on our feet. "Girls on the left, boys on the right."

After wishing Miriam a good night, Peter, Remus, Sirius and I all stumbled up the stairs on the right. We were evidently in one of the towers. There were doors on every landing. First was a sign with the number six, then two, then the bathrooms, then five, then three, another bathroom, four, seven, and then finally, a sign with the number one on it. There was still another landing above us, which we assumed was more bathrooms in our tired voices. We opened the door to the first year dorm. Six four-poster beds with curtains all around them were spread across the room. Our chests were at the foot of each bed.

There was a bit of a scramble as we each found our own bed. Half of us, namely Peter, Remus, and Tyrone, were asleep as soon as they found their beds. Didn't even bother to change into their pajamas. To be fair, I barely managed to slip into a nightshirt before I couldn't keep my eyes open. Besides, the bed was nice and warm. I suspected it had been magically heated. The last thing I thought before sleep took me was that I was so glad I was here.

Hey guys! So... What do you think? I worked for about a couple weeks on this, and I think I did alright. We'll see how it goes. Comments and critiques welcome!


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